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 Walter Johnson Boy Stakes Claim to State #1 Ranking, River Hill Girls Win
COMPLETE RESULTS by Brandon Hopp
Special to Running Maryland
If you thought Walter Johnson’s Class 4A boys cross country state title last year was a fluke, think again.
The Wildcats put on a dominating performance at Friday’s Howard County Invitational at Centennial High School in Ellicott City despite the pouring rain, rugged winds and soaked course.
Junior Alex Willet (16:55.79) and senior Sean O’Leary (17:00.94) finished first and second overall to help lift the Montgomery County school to a huge team victory over second place Damascus, 33-82.
“Alex is a tough kid, he worked hard over the summer,” said Walter Johnson coach Tom Martin. “Alex and Sean are going to battle all year to see who is going to be our number one. Ishan (Dey) will probably come up and end up fighting with them too.”
“It’s a good position to be in.”
O’Leary jumped out to an early lead and held it for most of the race before Willet kicked into gear late to surpass and hold off his teammate for the victory.
“It was really good having Alex in the race to keep me going and helping me get into a rhythm,” said O’Leary. “He’s a natural, he’s awesome…He chills out in practice but on race day, he’s all about the win.”
“(The course) was pretty bad, all of the turns especially around the baseball fields; it got a little slippery,” said O’Leary of the running conditions. “I almost took a spill but not quite.”
Four of the five scorers for Walter Johnson placed in the top ten with senior Ishan Dey (17:42.97) and junior Nick Regan (17:46.87) finishing in eighth and ninth place respectively.
“We have a lot of potential for sure but based on today, we still have a little bit of work to do,” O’Leary said. “States is a long way off so I think we will be ready by the time States come around.”
“It was a tough day weather wise, so it was tough to say how we did but we came out here and had some fun,” Martin with a smile.
“I’m very proud of my kids and how they worked over the summer and how hard they’ve worked to this point in the season,” Martin added. “This is one of the tougher courses and I like running here because it is real tough early and anybody who thinks that they’re ahead of their training, they usually walk away saying ‘I have room to improve.’”
The boys weren’t the only ones that turned in a strong performance, as the Wildcat girls team finished in second place behind River Hill.
Walter Johnson junior Anna Bosse, the defending Class 4A titlist, finished in first place overall with a 20:27.45 time. 
“Anna had a tough track season last year and she’s coming off of a leg injury from basketball and I just wanted her to come out here and run with confidence and she did that today and I couldn’t be happier.”
Bosse’s teammates junior Camile Bouvet and senior Jenna Willet finished fourth and fifth pace with times of 20:54.26 and 20:58.78, respectively.
But it was the Hawks who claimed the Invitational title for the second year in a row as junior Anna Demaree (20:34.76) and sophomore Leanne Young (21:06.18), finished in second and sixth place to power River Hill to the repeat.
“It’s hard to tell [how the team ran] because of the conditions but I felt like Anna ran pretty well, finishing second,” said River Hill coach Earl Lauer. “We’re trying a few things, it’s a little different from having Katie (Harmon) running out in front so we’re trying to pack together.”
“Last week at Clear Spring, our first five were within 34 seconds [of each other],” said Lauer. “Two weeks in a row in back-to-back meets, well one week from Saturday to Friday, we ran against probably two of the better teams in the state in Thomas Johnson and Walter Johnson…”
Back on the boys side, Mount Hebron senior Constantine Matsakis finished in third place, improving on his sixth place finish a year ago as he wiped 17 seconds off his time in 2008.
Howard County runners performed well with Eric Shuler (Reservoir), Robby Creese (Glenelg) and Scott Heydrick (River Hill) all placing in the top ten.
Senior Thomas Arias paced second place Damascus finishing sixth overall.
The top ten runners were all within 53 seconds of each other.
After Walter Johnson (33 points) and Damascus, River Hill finished third (87) ahead of last year’s champions Mount Hebron (102) and Glenelg (156).
In the girls race, Anna Bosse held a big lead as she was the first to climb the infamous hill at about the mile mark. She maintained at least a 10 to 15 yard advantage over the field for much of the race.
“We have to try our best and we have to deal with any weather that we get,” said Bosse. “I knew there was going to be some competition here and I just had the kick at the end because I knew [Anna Damaree] had a good kick.”
South River senior Hillary Lee placed third with Howard sophomore Hollie Adejumo (seventh), South Carroll freshman Samantha Bingman (eighth), Hammond sophomore Nicole Dawson and Winters Mill sophomore Hannah Oneda rounding out the top ten.
River Hill just edged Walter Johnson 60-64. Rounding out the top five teams were Damascus (133), Mount Hebron (160) and South Carroll (176).
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